35 Weeks

I'm feeling much better these past few days. I think the exhaustion is giving way to nesting. I have another energy surge; well not so much a surge, but I don't hit the floor if I don't get my afternoon nap. Although I'm still growing exponentially. I have had no less than 2 dozen people tell me how big I've gotten in the past few days. Seriously, it's like Baby Girl has unfolded, stretched the full 20 inches (and my belly is her little cocoon).

Here are the numbers from today's OB appt (34-weeks):

• Blood pressure: 100/60
• Weight: up 34 pounds (5 more weeks to go and I'm "supposed" to gain just one more pound!) Personally, I think there was something wrong with their scale. ;)
• Baby's heartrate: 135 bpm
• Fundal Height: 33.5

In All Things Give Thanks

OK, I'm in a cranky, uncomfortable mood right now. In order to capture these miserable days for posterity (and in case I start thinking about #3), here's my rant...

I had a terrible night's sleep last night. Baby Girl was moving all over the place. I call her a flopping fish. You know the visual image of a fish flailing on the dock--its head flopping from side-to-side while the tail flops from side-to-side in the other direction? That's what it felt like. She was hitting me down low in my pelvis at the same time as she was poking the top of my uterus. I am thankful for the active sign of life inside me.

I'm at the point where I have very little free real estate in my belly. Baby Girl and all her gear is squeezing every inch she can. This includes the space where my bladder used to go. Now my bladder is able to swell to the size of a walnut--max. As a result, I have to pee every 20 minutes. It's very repetitive, "Time to make the donuts" (a subtle 80s reference for those of you who remember the commercial). I'm thankful that Baby Girl is growing and I'm apparently staying hydrated. Oh, and for Charmin Ultra Soft.

If I don't drink water (in order to avoid peeing so often), then my braxton-hicks start up. I'm torn. Do I put up with multiple trips to the commode or fake contractions? They're both a nuisance. In the end, I opt for staying hydrated. I'm thankful my body reacts to let me know I need to stop and rest.

It's HOT; I'm HOT. It's been in the high 80s the past few days here in SA. That's ridiculous for February--especially if you're pregnant. I feel like I'm hitting early menopause. I'm always fanning myself like a little old lady with her church bulletin. I'm thankful that we have central air conditioning.

We're in the final countdown and Baby Girl is putting on the last few pounds for survival in the outside world. The latest testament to my roundness? It's getting very uncomfortable to cross my legs when I sit. I am thankful I don't wear skirts.

I'm exhausted. I was falling asleep reading my son Nate his naptime books today. I truly couldn't keep my eyes open. I tried the old "read one sentence from each page" trick to make the story progress faster, but Nate's getting to the age where he caught me on a few pages and made me go back. I need a 20-minute power nap at about 2:00 these days. I'm thankful Nate stays in his room for "quiet time" on days he decides he isn't going to settle down for a nap.

OK, like I said, I'm having an off day--feeling big and hot. Maybe I'll post some pictures so you can commiserate. And then we can always hope tomorrow is a better day. ;)

Another Difference between #1 & #2

Besides the daily differences in Baby Girl's pregnancy vis-à-vis Nathaniel's (like being more tired, er, exhausted, from chasing after a toddler and keeping house instead of lying down to nap or read another enlightening pregnancy article when the desire hit and waiting for our mama-san to clean the house on Wednesdays; having the baby's nursery set up by this time; the layette purchased and washed; the hospital bag packed; completing a birth plan; attending several childbirth classes, etc.), there is another striking difference--the prenatal journal entries. The list of things Nate did with Mommy in-utero went something like this:

"Went shopping and ate dim sum on the sensuous streets of Singapore, climbed Mt. Fuji followed by a fun weekend of frolic at Tokyo Disney, took a siesta on the beach at Waikiki & listened to Don Ho play "Tiny Bubbles" after our evening luau, piloted a reconnaissance support mission over the seas of North Korea with Mommy in the KC-135, flew First Class across the Pacific Ocean on United Airlines to go ice fishing in Minnesota..."

I even had to stop scuba diving and eating sushi whilst expecting our firstborn. You catch my drift; life was different. Baby Girl's entries are much more prosaic:

"Visited the San Antonio Zoo with Big Brother--saw the new hippo exhibit at Africa Live!, attended my first Woman of Faith national conference--rocked out to Mark Schultz, relaxed in the hammock at the lake, went sledding & ice fishing in Minnesota, saw Ronnie Milsap in concert while sipping lemonade at the San Antonio Stockshow & Rodeo, played "Candyland" and "Hi-Ho! Cherry-o!" 648 times..."

Of course, the change has taken its toll on me, too. There's a definite difference in your body's reaction to climbing a mountain and sitting still in arena chairs for three days in a row. My sciatic nerve (and referred pain in my right knee & lower leg) has been really bothering me for the past two or three days. The doctor recommended stretching (which I've been doing--pulling out every yoga move I can think of, "pigeon" being my go-to move), a hot bath, heating pad or an ice pack for my throbbing shin. He also said if the pain gets unbearable, I could try a chiropractor (now I know his stance on complementary medicine). In the end, he reminded me that the only thing that will probably permanently relieve the pain is delivery. Thanks, Doc!

Speaking of which, I had my 32-week appointment yesterday. It was short & sweet. I'm at the 30 pound mark for weight gain (7 weeks to go...can I stay within the 25-35-pound target range? Don't bet on it!), blood pressure was 94/60, again a strong heartbeat in the 160s. I took Nate to this appointment to keep him in the loop and excited for our new baby. He got to hear Baby Sister's heartbeat again, "Yes, Mommy I do hear it!" he repeated three times--before putting Dr. Kuhl's osteoporosis display in his mouth and climbing on the back of his chair, smirking. I think he was most fascinated by the process of collecting a urine sample. Great. That oughta confuse the boy enough to halt any potty training progress (not that he has any real interest in sitting on the potty). I think the Curious George sticker he received on the way out the door made him forget the whole collection process. We'll see.

My personal countdown has officially begun. I hit 33 weeks today. That puts me below the 50-days-to-go mark. It will come soon. We were going to try to paint the crib this weekend (Jason actually gets a three-day weekend for President's Day since he starts his general surgery rotation at Wilford Hall next week and there will be no civilians to in-process him on the federal holiday), but they're calling for thunderstorms all weekend. It will happen (painting the crib).

Our friends, the Evers, were in town from Abilene for the weekend. It was the first rain we've had in months (we've had the wettest six months on record followed by the driest six months on record this past year in San Antonio). As a result of the inclimate weather, we stayed inside--Nate showed Reagan (age 2) the ropes at Bass Pro Shop ("The Fish Store") and we all endured a Saturday afternoon at Chuck E. Cheese. The pinnacle of the day was dinner. We went out for sushi! We tried a new Asian Restaurant down the street called Wasabi. Jason and I shared the boulgogi and split two rolls (cooked, of course)--the volcano roll (deep-fried tuna with spicy scallop topping) the tiger eye (smoked salmon, cream cheese and jalapeno with wonton wrap). Yummy! Yummy! I think Baby Girl likes sushi!

Happy Valentine's Day from the Goodwins!

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30 weeks...and all's COOL!

I took the plunge earlier this week and changed OB/GYNs! This was hard for me. As I said in my earlier entry, I didn't want to switch to yet another OB/GYN this late in the game; but the more I thought about it, the more I realized it was something I needed to do. I mean this could be my last pregnancy...I'd like to look back with fond memories! ;) His name is Dr. Kuhl (pronounced, I kid you not, Dr. Cool). That's the real rason for the change, I just wanted to say, "I'm seeing Dr. Cool." He came highly recommended by my neighbor, Lisa (but my previous OB/GYN came highly recommended by several girlfriends, too). I met him yesterday for the first time. I can say after one 15 minute session, I feel like I already have more of a rapport with him than after two months with Dr. Jacobs. I guess it's personal preference. I'm a talker--relationship means a lot to me. If anything else, I've learned that about myself through this experience.

Here are the numbers from my 30-week appointment (which is confusing because I hit 31 weeks today--my appointments are on Fridays and my swap-over day is Saturday):

• Blood pressure: 98/64
• Weight gain: Just over 25 pounds so far
• Fundal height: 29 cm
• Baby Girl's heart rate: 163 bpm (he repeated several times, "strong heart beat")
• I guess my blood sugar is normal because they didn't say anything about my glucose test (I meant to ask).

We did talk about what I call my nesting-induced insomnia. I'm having problems getting back to sleep when I wake up in the middle of the night to change position or go to the bathroom. For about 10 days now, I've averaged between 5-6 broken hours a night (and I'm an 8 1/2 hours-a-night sort of gal). I fall asleep no problem--I'm so exhausted, then wake up at 2 or 3 o'clock with my mind racing. I lie in bed for awhile then decide I might as well get up and do something productive--like type on my web log or surf the net for nursery ideas and birth plans. ;) He suggested hot tea, a hot bath, exercise or, if all else fails, Benadryl--you've got to love such a universal drug. His take? It's been around for a long time, if there were going to be side-effects during pregnancy, they would've surfaced by now.

Baby Girl is a mover. I think she's much more "roley" than Nate--Nate kicked me (jab! jab!..."oooh!"). She gurgles around massaging every internal organ (then kicks me). It's about time to start counting this movement, I suppose. I was never very good at that with Nate.

I also mentioned my short stretch of moderate/severe indigestion last week. I think I actually caught this stomach bug that's going around here in SA. I had that in the first trimester, too--terrible stomach cramps that I attributed to pregnancy...until I took my temperature.

Nursery Status:
I knew it would be an undertaking to transform the craft/storage/miscellaneous room into a bonifide nursery. I mean this is where I stash the booty in my life that I neither want to deal with nor have proper storage for. That being said, I'm making slow progress. Jason put the shelves up over break and I've started purging. That's step one. However, it will be a continual growth process. I've decided on a nursery theme--it's mostly a color scheme: black furniture, white walls and pink accents (bedding, valances, baskets, wall art and even the pink shelf from IKEA). I think I labeled the over-all feel "shabby-Parisian-harlequin-chic." Step two, "check!" I picked out the bedding, too. Initially my mom was going to make the crib bedding, but I found a set on clearance for a lot less time (and probably less money) than my mom could have made it for. Plus, I couldn't find the right fabrics. Everything in the stores is pink and brown right now. Mom is going to add some frilly details like ribbons and bows to give it a less sterile feel. Crib bedding: step three complete. Jason primed the crib for it's coat of black paint today. We're holding off on the final coat of paint, however. Apparently, there will be a NO-VOC paint on the market by the end of the month (as opposed to the low-VOC paints out now). For a baby's crib, the paint master at Home Depot couldn't stress the benefits of waiting enough. OK, we'll wait.

As for my cravings? white starches again--cake, donuts or the delicious raspberry scones Jason and I shared last night on "date night;" hot tortillas with butter; cereal; fruit snacks; and cottage cheese with walnuts and tomotoes or strawberries also rank as one of my go-to snacks.

Crazy Side Effects of Pregnancy

I had my 28-week appointment yesterday (but just hit 29 weeks...Fridays seem to work best with our schedule). I've packed on 23 pounds so far. I also got stuck with two needles--one for my glucose test an hour after I drank my orange soda/syrup and one for my RhoGAM (since I'm A-). My time with the OB was still lacking at best. She doesn't seem very personable. If I hadn't already switched doctors half-way through this pregnancy and I wasn't 11 weeks away from D-day, I'd consider doctor shopping (again). I was spoiled with my first pregnancy in Okinawa. "You're not going to have what you had with Ann," Jason reminds me. It's certainly nice having your best friend as your OB-GYN. I remember one night when she called me up at home, "I want to see your baby--come on in tomorrow so we can peek!" Hmmmm....definitely isn't working that way this time around! Ann, if you're out there reading this, expect more phone calls over the next few weeks! :)

On to my crazy pregnancy side-effects:

1) HYPERCOLOR BELLY. Do you remember those Generra Hypercolor T-shirts from the late 80s? That's what my belly looks like. There's a constant, subtle red hue to it at all times. When I place my palms on my belly, they leave white palm prints. I'll try to get a photo. I had hypercolor belly with Nate, too. Great party trick--except I've noticed that many people have no desire to see the naked skin of a pregnant woman's belly. Little bumps can be cute under a shirt, I guess; but, please, no skin. (Here, finally a photo at 36 weeks:)

2) MYSTERIOUS BELLYBAND RASH. I woke up last week with a rash around the belly band. Just tiny red bumps around the protruding parts of my abdomen. It didn't itch any more than my pregnant belly normally itches. It lasted about 4 days, then disappeared as quietly as it arrived.

3) BEAUTIFUL FINGER NAILS (if you catch them at the right time). My finger nails grow super fast, but break easily (perhaps because it's so dry). But when they break, I'm not too upset because they grow so fast--do you see the cycle?

4) SNORING. Between this pregnancy rhinitis (swollen nasal membranes causing congestion) and "cedar fever" (I think my allergies are the worst they've ever been here in San Antonio), I haven't smelled in months. This congestion, fatigue, and perhaps little extra weight has led to a bad case of snoring. It can be so bad that Jason, a light sleeper, has gotten in the habit of sleeping in the guest room on nights I scare the Richter scale. That doesn't bother me, he certainly needs rest for his surgery rotation; but when it's our newborn Baby Girl waking us up in the middle of the night, I certainly hope he realizes it takes TWO to tango! I've tried the Breathe Right Strips, but can't keep them on my nose. I think I pick them off at night.

5) MOMMY METRONOME. That's what I like to call Baby Girl's hiccups. She gets them quite frequently. It's like having a built-in tempo keeper...if I ran marathons or played in a garage band this nuance could perhaps be useful.

I think that about covers the fun side effects of incubating a baby. The Braxton-Hicks contractions (practice for the big day) have subsided--I still get one or two a day, but nothing like the dozens or so I was getting upon our return from Christmas travels. I now make it a point to just sit, put my feet up and drink some peppermint tea throughout the day. I was having some moderate cramping earlier in the week, too. Both times, it happened at around 6:00 pm, after a full day on my feet. My self-treatment was to lie down, apply a heating pad to my lower pelvis and drink some water. The cramps went away after an hour or so. Dr. didn't seem too concerned about it. Baby Girl has also been doing quite an in utero performance these past few days--tumbling, twisting and thrusting in every direction. Maybe I'll sign her up for gymnastics NOW!

I've been having fun wearing the few pieces of "cold weather" maternity clothes that I had hovering in my closet--black cords, light sweaters, thick canvas pants, etc. Julie and Jill sent me home from Minnesota with a few borrowed maternity pieces, so I've had fun putting them in my fashion rotation. When we returned to San Antonio the first week in January, temps were already back in the upper 70s. I was afraid I'd missed my opportunity--that "winter" was gone. I'm not saying I love the current weather--it's mid-to-upper-30s and raining--but I do get to bundle up. Pros & cons.

I've graduated to OB appointments every-two-weeks. Hopefully more frequent appointments will lead to more frequent updates. We'll see. But, until then, I must fold the family laundry--a pregnant lady's work is never done! ;)

Auld Lang Syne

Happy 2008!

This is it! The year that our Baby Girl arrives in this world. In fact, the official date is only 12 weeks away! I'm not ready. That statement covers my mental state (can you ever be ready for those all-night "cry...feed...poop...repeat" marathons?) as well as the physical state of affairs in the Goodwin house (mainly the status of the nursery, big brother's baby book, etc.)

Baby Girl rang in her first New Year snug inside my belly at her Uncle Jeff's house in Minnesota. We made it until midnight playing Trivial Pursuit--watched the ball drop and everything (sans champagne toast, of course--but we did get a kiss from her Daddy!) She also went sledding, ice fishing, curling and, of course, got spoiled by her Minnesota Aunties at the Breyen Christmas celebration--including her first book, "Goodnight Gorilla" from Jill and a precious pink & white baby frame for her new nursery from Ju-ju. Grandma & I spent a few days searching the fabric stores in the Bemidji area for just-the-right-fabric for her crib bedding set. I'm thinking pink & white gingham, but can't find the right shade of pink in the scale I want.

Julie took some awesome maternity photos while we were up there, too. She brought her equipment and set up a quasi-studio in the basement. She got some of Baby Girl & me in a few different outfits, some with me and Jason cracking up at each other, some of Nate kissing his sister inside my belly and some family shots. I'm really happy with the selection. Best of all...we had fun doing it!

I'm about to begin my third trimester (wow! that went fast!) She is an active baby--mainly at 10:00 pm as I hunker down for the night, throughout the night and after meals. I've also been heavy on the Braxton-Hicks contractions the past few days. I'm sure it's from the traveling--go! go! go! and dehydration--it was so dry in Minnesota. I need to just sit, drink fluids and put my feet up...but there's so much to do!

Cravings in Minnesota: Cheetos, sugar cookies with almond frosting, Dad's homemade baked fries with ketchup, apples, clementines, milk, ice cold water (the ice cube trays were very accessible on the deck--they stayed frozen pretty well at 15 degrees below 0!), anything the boys (my dad and hubby) made in the kitchen, and chocolate!